Despite Premier Ford’s rhetoric, government spending in Ontario will still be up markedly this year.
ontario deficit
The government’s operating deficit now stands at $14.5 billion—only half a billion less than the pre-update status quo.
Deficits and debts are not free money—they come at a cost.
If Queen’s Park reduces spending by $5 billion, it could eliminate two-thirds of the provincial deficit.
The federal deficit is now about $19 billion.
Government-sector employees in Ontario are paid approximately 13 per cent more than comparable private-sector workers.
If the government exercises spending restraint, it can eliminate Ontario’s $15 billion deficit in roughly three years.
Since 1990-91, the province has run deficits 20 out of 27 years.
Ontario once benefitted from some of the lowest power prices on the continent—not now.
Ontario holds more debt than any other sub-national government in the world.